May 8, 2026

---

🥳 Surprises. Yes, life is filled with them. Big ones and, of course, little ones. I don’t want to seem like a downer here, but it has been my experience that most surprises in life are negative.

An explanation is probably in order. And I guess I should have qualified all of this by saying I’m a glass three-quarters full person by nature. But it seems more likely than not that when you visit your mailbox, there will be an unexpected bill versus an unexpected check. This is what I mean. 😃

Again, life is filled with surprises. And when you stumble upon an unexpected, pleasant surprise, you should savor it. This week’s newsletter is about that very thing…

📆 Sarasota Has a Culinary History. Back in the early 90s, at the corner of Main and Orange, a full fifteen years before the roundabout opened, sat the El Greco Cafe.

George Soublis had moved from Greece in the mid-60s and thought it might be a good idea to bring a bit of his “home cooking” to Sarasota. It turned out to be an excellent decision. Not only for George, but for hungry Sarasota diners too.

The original El Greco Cafe closed a while ago (George sold it back in 2007 before it was shuttered). Even though the original is long gone, the spirit of that cozy Greek cafe has just been rekindled.

In the Expo on Clark shopping center (also home to Oak & Stone, The Original Egg, and Valentino’s) sits the latest chapter in the Sarasota history of El Greco. And this is a pretty great restart!

🆕 Welcome to the new El Greco Kitchen & Market!

George’s daughter, Patti Soublis Corcoran, and her nephew, Dimitri Syros, saw the opportunity to bring some of the El Greco dishes back to life, but in an updated and 2026 kind of way.

This is a “fast-casual” operation. I think you know how this kind of thing goes…

1️⃣ Order at the counter, using either by using the kiosk or by actually talking to a live person!

2️⃣ Grab a seat.

3️⃣ Wait for your order to be dropped off at your table.

4️⃣ Enjoy!

It’s quick, easy, and practically effortless. I was a little surprised (a positive surprise!) at how dialed in they had everything, even though they had only been open for a couple of weeks. But this is a family that knows the restaurant business inside and out!

The dining area isn’t fancy. But honestly, it doesn’t need to be. It’s light, bright, and welcoming, and frankly, that is more than enough for this type of place.

🫓 What About the Food? Yes, that is why we’re here after all. So, let’s get to it.

The menu is limited. Not a bad thing. Makes choosing WAY easier. On our visit we went pretty traditional. The Gyro Pita seemed like the best play here. And as it turned out, it didn’t disappoint!

We added tzatziki sauce, tomato, cucumber, and onion to our wrap. That’s a pretty standard prep. We’re not pushing the gyro envelope here, or anything like that. 😁

A lot of people will go with the fries actually wrapped up in the sandwich. We wanted to sample those separately today. And they were pretty damn good. Nice and crispy and salty.

There are a couple of holdovers from the original El Greco menu. Joe, Patti’s husband, and the restaurant’s unofficial greeter, told me that the Avgolemono Soup and the Horiatiki Salad are the original recipes. We’re saving that for next time.

They are planning on a little “Grab and Go” market. That’s a little bit of a work in progress at the moment. But I’m sure that they’ll get there.

This is a family operation to be sure. And there are little touches of that sprinkled all around the restaurant. Things here have a noticeably personal touch to them. I’m hoping that never goes away.

📝 I’ll start this note by saying that I have NO, I mean ZERO, inside info here. But this El Greco “Lite” feels like it has a “full-size” El Greco just waiting in the wings. I can keep my fingers crossed, I guess.

⭐ Bottom Line – The new El Greco Kitchen & Market is perfect for what it is. Great food, affordable pricing, and a relaxed, casual atmosphere. Wrap it all up in a nice family-owned-and-operated package, and you’ve got a great experience. And, as a bonus, this plaza has a ton of parking!

El Greco Kitchen & Market Info:

🗺️ Address: 4035 Clark Road, Sarasota, FL

☎️ Phone: 941-373-9630

📋 VIEW THEIR MENU HERE

🌐 EL GRECO WEBSITE | DINESARASOTA PAGE

~ LH

📝 END NOTES –

(a) If you happen to be at all curious, we dug up an old El Greco Cafe menu from our archives. Yes, they had a delicious Lamb Shank! – VIEW THE OLD EL GRECO MENU HERE.

(b) Our old Ride-Along dining partner, Tim (remember him from our Happy Hour series?), was with us on this trip. Thanks, Tim, for suggesting El Greco. Great choice! Do you have a new place in town that you’d like us to try? Put it on our radar, and maybe we’ll take you for a Ride-Along tasting too! – SUGGEST A RESTAURANT HERE!

---

⚡ A LITTLE UPDATE – Back on April 24th, we wrote a piece about the newly opened Kitchen Social out at UTC. We tried, prior to publishing, to get in touch with someone at the corporate office to ask about the “Scratch Kitchen” concept. Unfortunately, at the time we needed to publish, we couldn’t contact anyone. That has changed!

🚶‍➡️ Enter Brian O’Malley. Brian is the co-founder of Kitchen Social. He, along with three friends, started this Ohio-based, upscale casual dining brand. He was nice enough to reach out so that we could ask some questions.

❓ We were really interested in how they view the definition of “scratch.” According to Brian, the restaurant makes all of their own sauces, guacamole, tortilla chips, and dressings. Yes, like all restaurants, they need to acquire the base ingredients from somewhere. They have a local vendor for that.

One of the most interesting (and intriguing) things was the pizza dough. They have their own “mother” starter for their dough. They started growing it before the first restaurant opened. And, yes, a portion of the original was lovingly transported here to Sarasota to be used in this location. That’s pretty great! 🍕

🍔 Burgers. Of course, my job wouldn’t be nearly complete if I didn’t ask about the “Signature Burger Patties”. I mean, as you may know, we LOVE a good burger around here. Brian did tell us that they have a purveyor in Ohio that designed a special burger blend just for them. That recipe is a secret. But he swears that the Pimento Cheese Burger is especially delicious! (Yes, they make their own pimento cheese! We may be the judge of that shortly.)

To wrap this up. No, Kitchen Social does not consider itself to be Farm to Table. They don’t raise their own cows for the steaks they serve or grow their own heirloom corn for masa. But they do consider themselves to be “scratch” in the sense that they don’t plop dressing from a one-gallon Ken’s dressing jug into their salads. They source, prep, and mix the components that make their dishes unique to them.

Thanks, Brian, for taking the time to set the record straight. Appreciated!

---

---

🗓️ SARASOTA FOOD INFO🗓️ 

Here is some local food information that we think you might find interesting. We’ve provided you with a link to more info. 

📖 BUY A COPY OF OUR 2026 SARASOTA DINING BOOK! – ORDER HERE 📖 

📋 MENU OF THE MONTH!! – Stella’s Greek Cuisine – MENU HERE! 

---

🧑‍🌾 FARMER’S MARKET INFO ‍🌾 

EVERY SUNDAY – Siesta Key Farmer’s Market – DETAILS 

EVERY SUNDAY – Farmer’s Market at Lakewood Ranch – DETAILS 

EVERY SUNDAY – The Meadows Farmer’s Market – DETAILS 

EVERY WEDNESDAY – The Phillippi Farmhouse Market (Oct-Apr) – DETAILS 

EVERY THURSDAY – Englewood Farmer’s Market (Oct-May) – DETAILS 

EVERY SATURDAY – Sarasota Farmer’s Market – DETAILS  

EVERY SATURDAY – Downtown Bradenton Public Market – DETAILS 

EVERY SATURDAY – Venice Florida Farmer’s Market – DETAILS 

THIRD THURSDAY EVERY MONTH – UTC Night Market – DETAILS 

---

🌟 SHARE, FOLLOW, LIKE 🌟 

📱 Yes, we’re on social media! Our Facebook, X, Instagram, Threads and Bluesky 

Get information on 350+ Sarasota restaurants on the dineSarasota.com website 

Did you miss a story? Here are some of our past Bites – SB ARCHIVE 

Do you love our A Burger A Week pieces? – HERE’S THE FULL ARCHIVE 🍔 

Check out all of our Videos on our YouTube channel! 

Refer a friend to Sarasota Bites. That would make us super happy CLICK HERE! 

Email us a question, comment, or suggest a story. SEND EMAIL 

From time to time, our articles may include links to purchase items. If you click on a link and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. These small commissions help pay for the cost of creating the content we love bringing you. For more information on our editorial policy, CLICK HERE.   

👀 JUST IN CASE YOU MISSED SOMETHING…